Night and Day
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Paige has something to tell her son. She's more than a little nervous about how he might react.


**Set, well, hopefully in the not too distant future.**

* * *

Paige stood in the doorway, silent, watching her son.

Ralph was perched on the edge of the couch, his brow furrowed in focus on the game on the television screen in front of him. She wondered if he knew she was there. Sometimes his perception of the world around him astounded her; he could appear to be giving whatever task was at hand his entire focus, but then would later comment on little things that had gone on around him while he was doing it. Other times, he completely missed some fairly significant part of his surroundings.

She supposed for as strong as their bond was, for as much as they loved each other and learned from each other, she would never fully understand him. But that was okay. You didn't have to completely get someone in order to love them.

"Hey baby?" She asked quietly, and Ralph pressed a button on his controller, pausing the game. He turned his head toward her.

"Can we talk for a minute?" She asked. She felt bad disrupting him. She knew his games were the way of resetting after a long day. _But I have to get this out. I have to tell him. It's important._

"Yeah." There was ample room on the couch for both of them, but Ralph scooted over anyway. She appreciated the gesture, crossing the room and sinking down beside him. "What's going on, Mom?"

Paige wrung her hands nervously. "Do you..." she'd committed to doing this, but she wasn't at all sure how to begin. She had no idea how he would take her news, and the possibility that he might not be happy about it was making her an absolute wreck. "You know how adults...and kids, some kids, older kids than you, but some kids too..." She trailed off, unable to really remember what she just said. "When two people spend a lot of time together, sometimes they start getting...close."

"Mom," Ralph said with a smile that she strongly suspected was supposed to be reassuring, "Toby already gave me the talk."

"The...what? No," Paige said, feeling her cheeks turn slightly pink. "That's...that's not what...this is." _Toby is dead. Toby is so dead._ "I just mean, movies, they kind of...you meet someone, and you start seeing them. But sometimes people are friends first, and they have this strong bond, and after a while you realize that that's not all there is. There are...feelings there. The kind of feelings that don't happen a lot. And if you're really, really lucky, the other person feels the same way."

"Romantic relationships," Ralph said. "I am familiar with the concept."

She opened her mouth to tell him to watch his – then stopped. He wasn't saying it sarcastically. He was being matter – of – fact. "Okay, well, you know that I've always treasured the relationships you and I have forged at Scorpion. And Walter and I..."

She was startled at how Ralph leapt from the couch as if it had suddenly become electrified. Now standing, he stared at her with wide eyes. "You and Walter are dating?"

Paige could think of two possible emotions that her son could have that would cause his current expression. They were complete opposites of each other and she had no clue which one he was feeling and was almost too terrified to ask. She stared at him for several seconds, then gave a slow nod. "We did go out on a date yesterday, and he asked me if later I wanted to...oh!"

She was startled when Ralph threw himself into her arms. He didn't do this. He'd gotten better with physical contact over the past few years but...

He wrapped his arms around her neck. "You're going to be so happy," he said, and she was surprised at the emotion in his voice. "You guys are both going to be so happy."

Paige hugged him back, still in a slight shock. "So..." she said, and he pulled back, standing up so he could look at her. "So you're okay with this? Because I know you and Walter are really good friends, and..." She trailed off again, a grin spreading over her face as Ralph gave her his answer with a grin of his own. "Okay," she said. "Okay."

"I'm happy if you're happy," Ralph said quickly, but the difference between now and the last time he'd promised her that was night and day.

This time, she knew he meant it.


End file.
